TORONTO: HITTING: SS YUNEL ESCOBAR brings a little pop and could score runs in bunches atop a solid lineup. OF JOSE BAUTISTA has simply been the best hitter in baseball the past two seasons. 1B ADAM LIND will have plenty of RBI chances, but his average stinks and he faded late last year. 3B BRETT LAWRIE will be a 30-30 candidate in his prime and he's a solid slugger already. Expect big power numbers but a painful average in C J.P. ARENCIBIA's sophomore season. OF COLBY RASMUS should have his head right this year and could see an uptick in power numbers. 2B KELLY JOHNSON improved his dreadful average after being traded to Toronto. He has great potential as a 20-20 candidate. DH EDWIN ENCARNACION raked at home last season and has the position flexibility to stay in the lineup every day. OF ERIC THAMES will start in left field. Thames has 15-15 potential. OF RAJAI DAVIS' speed makes him worthy of staying in the fourth outfielder role. STARTING PITCHING: He's not really an ace, but RICKY ROMERO is a solid innings-eater at the front of the Jays' staff. He's a low-risk, low-reward starting pitcher. BRANDON MORROW's talent is intriguing. His mid-90s heat and deceptive slider lead to huge strikeout tallies, but also leads to a lot of gopher balls. Questionable conditioning was an issue for BRETT CECIL last year, as he gave up a whopping 37 HR between the majors and Triple-A. He seemed to straighten things out over the second half of last season. HENDERSON ALVAREZ's performance as a 21-year-old gives him an inside track for a rotation spot. He has intriguing upside. DUSTIN McGOWAN returned in September from a 38-month layoff to put himself in the mix for the rotation. His mid-90s gas is still there, giving him 175-K potential. KYLE DRABEK has great potential, but he was a disaster in 2011. He could not command his promising arsenal of pitches, and broke down mentally at times. RELIEF PITCHING: SERGIO SANTOS has unhittable stuff, but will have to battle newcomer FRANCISCO CORDERO as Toronto's closer. Cordero's strikeout rate dropped down to a putrid 5.4 K/9 last year, but he showed great command with a stellar 1.02 WHIP. CASEY JANSSEN was Toronto's most improved pitcher in 2011. He has a sinking fastball, a pretty good K rate and performed quite well against the AL East last season. Prospect JOEL CARRENO, a starter in the minors, is a closer-in-waiting. He was impressive out of the pen after a late-August call-up, and averaged better than a strikeout per inning, albeit with shaky control, in the minors.

NY YANKEES: HITTING: Despite his decline from mediocrity into downright counter-productivity, SS DEREK JETER gets to hit atop the best lineup in baseball. Off an MVP-caliber season, OF CURTIS GRANDERSON is a true star. His average is mediocre, but his power is elite and the Yankees are letting him run when on base. After two years with a sub-.260 average, 1B MARK TEIXEIRA's talent seems to be fading. He still puts up huge power numbers playing in a bandbox. Coming off knee and thumb injuries, 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ is a serious injury risk hitting in the middle of this lineup. 2B ROBINSON CANO will once again see as many RBI chances as anyone. He's been great in those situations the past two seasons. OFs NICK SWISHER and BRETT GARDNER offer power and SBs, respectively, though the Yankees may look to upgrade if they continue to post lackluster numbers. C RUSSELL MARTIN will get plenty of playing time now that Jesus Montero is in Seattle. Veteran slugger RAUL IBANEZ is the new DH in town, and will love hitting towards the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium. STARTING PITCHING: CC SABATHIA struggled late last year and has logged a ridiculous number of innings over the past five years. He's a top-10 starter in the majors, but is starting to pass his prime. Newcomers HIROKI KURODA and MICHAEL PINEDA will both stabilize what was a shaky rotation last year. Kuroda, 37, posted a 3.07 ERA with the Dodgers and the 23-year-old Pineda has unlimited upside, fanning 173 batters in 171 innings with Seattle last season. IVAN NOVA benefitted from nearly nine runs of support per game. He keeps the ball down often enough to thrive in the Bronx, just without many strikeouts. PHIL HUGHES' stuff has regressed greatly since his days as a top prospect. He's trying to overcome conditioning problems this offseason. MANNY BANUELOS and DELLIN BETANCES are great prospects who may get a chance to start MLB games later this season. RELIEF PITCHING: Trust MARIANO RIVERA to stay dominant until proven wrong. He was better in 2011 than he was in 2010 despite some velocity slippage. DAVID ROBERTSON has a firm hold on eighth-inning duties after an All-Star season. He's second in line for saves. RAFAEL SORIANO wasn't a total bust, as he did just fine after a rough April. He's settled into the seventh-inning role since Robertson is more trusted that he is. After Tommy John surgery, JOBA CHAMBERLAIN is aiming to be back this June. Middle reliever CORY WADE was reliable last year, and has a chance to rack up some vulture wins if he keeps going strong.

While things haven't gone as planned for the Toronto Blue Jays, they're hoping to get a spark from their latest win.

The visiting Blue Jays try to post back-to-back victories for the first time in almost two weeks Thursday night as they open a four-game set against the New York Yankees.

After suffering back-to-back losses at Baltimore, Toronto (9-13) salvaged Wednesday's series finale with a 6-5, 11-inning win. Rajai Davis, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and J.P. Arencibia all homered before Maicer Izturis drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk.

"That's what it takes," Davis told MLB's official website. "It takes all of us out there on the field, it takes every one of us pitching (in) to help us win games. We have to pick each other up whenever that happens.

"We didn't win the series, but we've got a lot to look forward to. We've got a lot more season left. We're looking forward to winning some more games."

Despite Wednesday's effort, the Blue Jays have been limited to a .189 average in dropping three of four on the road. Sitting at the bottom of the AL East, Toronto is 10 for its last 64 (.156) with runners in scoring position.

The Blue Jays' only consecutive wins came April 12-13 at Kansas City.

"We keep on saying how much a win can do for us, but I think we have to clean up our game," said Arencibia, who leads the club with eight homers.

Toronto now turns to Mark Buehrle (1-0, 5.87 ERA), who's gone 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA over his last two starts. He allowed three runs and seven hits over seven innings of Saturday's 5-3, 11-inning loss to New York (11-9).

The veteran left-hander is 1-8 in 13 career starts against the Yankees while compiling a 6.03 ERA - his highest mark against any team. Buehrle can't be looking forward to facing Vernon Wells, who's gone 23 for 47 (.489) with two homers in their matchups.

"He's a guy who throws strikes, and I'm usually a guy who is swinging often, so I've gotten a few to fall in," Wells said after taking Buehrle deep Saturday. "We talk to each other back and forth. We are two old guys that have been around a long time and have had to face each other several times, so we have fun with it."

Wells, who spent the first 12 years of his career with Toronto, is batting .349 with four homers and nine RBIs in his last 10 games against his former team.

New York counters with Hiroki Kuroda (2-1, 2.35). After throwing a five-hitter versus Baltimore on April 14, Kuroda scattered three hits over 7 1-3 innings of one-run ball opposite Buehrle last weekend.

"His slider was really good," manager Joe Girardi said. "He used it really effectively against the right-handers. He used his split pretty effectively, threw some early curveballs. He just mixed his pitches. He gave us a great outing again."

Kuroda, 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts in the series, faces a Blue Jays team that's dropped 12 of 14 in the Bronx. Toronto has hit .224 and been outscored 78-47 over that stretch.

The Yankees return home looking to avoid a fourth loss in five games after falling 3-0 at Tampa Bay on Wednesday. New York managed just four singles as Robinson Cano, Travis Hafner, Francisco Cervelli and Lyle Overbay - the team's 3-4-5-6 hitters Wednesday - went a combined 0 for 13.

Kevin Youkilis has missed the last four games with lower back tightness but could return Thursday. He's 3 for his last 28 with eight strikeouts.